1
as in to pretend
to present a false appearance of
he dissembled happiness at the news that his old girlfriend was getting married—to someone else
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2
as in to dissimulate
to take on a false or deceptive appearance
children learn to dissemble at a surprisingly early age
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Recent Examples of dissemble
Authorities were forced to dissemble the back deck in order to rescue some of the pups that were beneath, according to the Strong Island Animal Rescue League, who assisted with the efforts.
—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
7 Aug. 2025
Building trust in companies and their leaders isn’t easy, given many decades of dissembling.
—
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
6 July 2025
You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.
—
Aryeh Neier,
The New York Review of Books,
3 Mar. 2025
Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.
—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
19 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
7 Aug. 2025
Building trust in companies and their leaders isn’t easy, given many decades of dissembling.
—
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
6 July 2025
You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.
—
Aryeh Neier,
The New York Review of Books,
3 Mar. 2025
Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.
—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
19 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissemble
Verb
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Aegon, reeling from his brother’s betrayal and, likely, the early stages of opiate withdrawal, refuses to pledge (pretend) fealty to the Blacks and so Larys reveals Aegon’s identity.
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But for a little while in Pinehurst, a room full of journalists and a parking lot full of golf fans agreed to pretend otherwise.
Verb
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Sweden loses key piece The first half was a sloppy slugfest as both teams tried to use their physicality to assume control.
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John Murphy, president and chief financial officer, will assume the responsibilities in the interim, according to an announcement.
Verb
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But there’s no way to simulate all the variables of real life, particularly the weather.
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Instead of developing multiple aircraft designs or conducting thousands of expensive flight tests, engineers can simulate those scenarios digitally and rapidly iterate on designs.
Cite this Entry
“Dissemble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissemble. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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